Between the hospitals of Isala in Meppel and Zwolle, medical drones will fly as a test in the coming year. They carry real blood samples and medical items.
“During this test period, people flown with real blood samples of patients,” says a spokesperson on behalf of Isala. “Filled material is being investigated in the Lab in Meppel and goes to Zwolle per drone. It also looks at whether drone traffic has an influence on the quality of blood cells of particularly vulnerable patients.” Medical transport per drone must ensure that patients are helped faster, because it goes faster than through the road.
It is therefore mainly about flights from Meppel to Zwolle, and then fly back to Meppel. The drone, with a wingspan of 2.8 meters, lands on meadows near the hospital for the time being.
Isala has the desire to create a landing platform for drones at Meppel hospital. A request for this has not yet been submitted. “If the drone becomes really operational, it will have to fly from roof to roof, via a landing platform. But it is still too early for that. During the test period, the drone will initially fly from an adjacent pasture at the Meppel hospital to the wasteland near Isala Zwolle.”